Enlightened Stewardship
We applaud those who take their stewardship of their land seriously by practicing not only maintenance but also conservation. There is a sense of guardianship which arises when people look to the future--sometimes even 7 generations hence--when making decisions on behalf of the land. It's a way to move from "me" to "we" in the care of this planet and all of her creatures.
Given this planet's highly stressed condition as seen in the extremes of climate, a move to ENLIGHTENED stewardship is the next step for land owners and others responsible for the use of precious land. Here at PartnerWithNature.org, our eyes are focused firmly on restoring Nature's health. We are set on helping people bring forth planetary conditions that can sustain humanity into future centuries.
What is "Human-Centric"?
We humans put our survival needs first. That's necessary. Doing that might not have been bad when humanity was hunting and gathering 40,000 to 10,000 years ago. There was only so much damage we could do. But all too often, we think we are the only ones on the planet that matter. And now humanity has back-hoes and chain saws and dynamite.
We have done a lot of damage---haven't always been good stewards. But we can awaken to our own selfish natures, catch ourselves in the act!
Instead, we can learn to come from Nature's Point of View first, then collaborate and co-create WITH Nature.
Enlightenment in stewardship begins with a mindfulness about Nature.
It means becoming Nature-Centric rather than human-centric.
In other words, to think of Nature's needs first and then about one's own needs or preferences.
Being Nature-Centric means coming from Nature's point of view.
For example, if you imagine yourself in a tree's roots, standing in the sunshine or rain for your lifetime, bringing to you what you need but also being at the effect of local weather and local human interferences. Well, from that point of view, you might realize that you -- as the tree -- have different needs, have certain problems, have unexpected relationships with other beings in the ecosystem.
Taking a tree's perspective or taking Nature's perspective on life is an enlightened act.
